After falling behind by 14 points in the first half, the Cerritos College men's basketball team was unable to complete the comeback, as they dropped a 77-66 contest against ECC Compton Center at The Aviary on Wednesday night. The Falcons (9-8) closed their deficit to just one point (47-46) with 16:05 left in the second half on an offensive rebound and basket by sophomore Kyle Geer (Bassick, CT HS/Cuesta College).

Cerritos had three straight possessions where they could have taken their first lead of the game. But a blocked layup attempt by Geer was followed by four more missed shot attempts. The Tartars also struggled from the field, but increased their lead to 52-46 until freshman Luis Medearis (View Park HS) scored with 12:18 left to break the scoring drought.

The team was within three points (64-61) after a pair of Geer free throws with 3:52 left in the second half. But Compton responded with a pair of Marquise Harris free throws and then put a dagger in the Falcons side when Michael Chavers drained a three-pointer with 2:17 remaining for a 68-61 Tartar lead.

Medearis led the team with 22 points and had five rebounds, but was 9-for-23 from the field. As a team, Cerritos was just 4-of-25 from three-point range, while Compton hit 6-of-15. Freshman Brian Nebo (St. John Bosco HS) finished with 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, with Geer accounting for 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Cerritos will travel to Mt. San Antonio College on Friday for another South Coast Conference crossover game.

Photos by Daryl Peterson